Fade to black
by KeepCalmAndWatchAnime
Summary: Biju's don't exist, Sasuke's clan was never murdered, Naruto has a family, but Itachi and Naruto run away to join the Akatsuki? And what is the goal of Akatsuki if biju's don't exist? When Sasuke is on his first Jounin mission he runs into the two Akatsuki members. Can he bring them back home, or are they too consumed by evil? Full Summary inside.
1. Snitch

**The new members of the Uchiha family  
Aki- 14 (boy)  
****Izumi- 8 (girl)**

**Warning: Certain characters may be OOC, mainly Sasuke and Naruto because having parents in their lives affects their personalities. And Itachi is different as well.**

Summary:

Jinchuuriki don't exist. The Akatsuki exists, but their goals are different. Sasuke's village was never murdered, but that doesn't mean that Itachi isn't a criminal. At the age of thirteen, Itachi convinced Naruto to leave the village with him, leaving Minato and Kushina heart broken. By the age of sixteen, Itachi joined the Akatsuki and so does his hyperactive blond companion. Sasuke was too young to understand why his brother left, but begins to understand as he grows older. When Sasuke became a jounin at the age of fifteen, the Akatsuki slowly puts their plans to action. And on Sasuke's first A rank mission, he runs into Naruto and Itachi. Is Sasuke able to stop them, and possibly even bring them back to the village?

* * *

"Naruto, do you think you're powerful?"

"Of course I do"

Itachi had always been closer to Naruto than Sasuke had been. For some reason Naruto and Sasuke just couldn't get along, their strong rivalry being a part of that reason. Naruto couldn't stand anyone that was stronger than him, and his loud, and slightly mischievous behavior clashed with Sasuke's good boy attitude. Itachi didn't get along too well with Sasuke either, but it seemed like ever since their dad died last year, a lot of things changed, and his relationship with Sasuke was one of them. Itachi went from being smiley and bubbly, to mute and rebellious, while Sasuke remained a happy go lucky star student.

"Do you think you're more powerful than Sasuke?"

Naruto groaned at the question. People always compared him to Sasuke because they were the top students at the Academy in ranking. But as strong as Naruto maybe, he was always second best to Sasuke. Whether it was taijutsu board games, popularity; Sasuke was always better, and that really got under Naruto's skin. Being the Hokage's son meant that he had to be number one, not second best. His parents were proud of him, but no matter how proud they were of him, that didn't mean anything to Naruto. He wanted to be more adored than Sasuke was, which was a pretty greedy desire because he got enough praise as it was. He was the Hokage's successful son after all.

"No! I wish I was! And the worse part is that my parents think my rivalry with Sasuke is unhealthy! What a bunch of crap!", he said as he picked up a rock and through it in the river.

"I agree. Nothing wrong with wanting to be the best"

"Exactly! And it's just so annoying! They're even making me write an apology letter to him because I refused to do that stupid handshake after we sparred against each other in class! Isn't that ridiculous?", the child protested.

"I understand. I never liked doing that when I was your age either. But did you win?"

"I never got to finish because Iruka sensei said the fight was getting too intense! Intense my ass!"

Itachi chuckled at Naruto's adorable rant. His rants were pretty entertaining to listen to, and it was what made Naruto so different from most seven year olds. That, and the fact that he was a lot more sinister than the average seven year old. He would go on and on about how he could easily prank all of the teachers at the academy, but never acted on it because he knew how his parents would react. It was one of the things he hated about being the Hokage's son, he felt like even the smallest mistakes would disgrace his family name.

"Iruka is a pathetic chunin. He's a weak little pussy", Itachi said in his usual careless voice. Itachi was also part of the reason that Naruto had a potty mouth. Where else do you think Naruto learned such foul language? But Naruto only swore when he was around Itachi, never anyone else. He could only imagine how angry his mother would be if he heard him say anything worse than "darn it!".

"What's a pussy?"

"I will tell you when the time comes"

Naruto groaned again and then turned away from Itachi. Itachi laughed at Naruto's adorable anger. He liked how his eyes narrowed, and his innocent blue eyes resembled something more evil. He liked the way he pouted his lip and turned his head away in dismissal. It showed character.

"Come on Naruto-kun, you know I give you information about almost everything"

As much as Naruto didn't want to admit it, he was right. Itachi told him everything ever since he turned seven because he was at least slightly old enough to understand. He told Naruto why his Academy teacher got fired, told Naruto how to become a stronger ninja, and even told him some of Sasuke's weak spots.

"I know! But I want to know more than Sasuke! I want more acknowledgement from teachers than Sasuke! I want a fanclub like Sasuke! I want to be more powerful! More powerful than.., Naruto didn't even have to finish his sentence.

"You don't need more acknowledgement from teachers than Sasuke, and you don't need a fanclub like Sasuke. Those things are superficial"

"Itachi, you know I don't like it when you use big words"

Itachi sighed. Sometimes he would forget that Naruto was only seven years old, and even though he didn't know the word "superficial" he didn't know a lot of words either. Even the easy one's that most seven year olds knew. Naruto's lack of understanding simple material was one of the things that made him weaker than Sasuke.

"Superficial means that you value things that don't matter in life. People don't matter, but being smart does. Fancy clothes don't matter, but being strong does", Itachi explained. The blond nodded.

"Now do you understand?"

"Eh...kind of", he said sounding slightly unsure.

"Naruto, your lack of understanding is what makes Sasuke stronger than you. Your taijutsu and ninjutsu can be great; that can make you strong. But if you aren't smart, and can easily be tricked, you will only be strong, but you won't be the strongest"

The blond nodded, and this time the nod showed full understanding, even though he was clearly upset by what Itachi had said to him. But Itachi didn't care, the truth hurt, and Naruto needed to start realizing that things won't always be sugar coated. He sat down next to Itachi on the very edge of the dock, looking at his own reflection in the water. Naruto's features were also something that Itachi found interesting. He had bright blond hair like his father, and skin that wasn't pale like most of the villages. His eyes reminded him of a peaceful blue river, until he was angered of course.

"How Itachi...I'm doing everything I can to become stronger, but the process is so slow. And Sasuke picks up on things quicker than I do", he sulked.

"It's ok Naruto, I have a plan to make us both stronger", he said as he put a comforting arm around him.

"You do?", the blond said looking at him with excitement.

"Itachi!"

"Crap", Itachi grumbled.

Itachi's mother holding nine month old Izumi, Kushina, and Sasuke were standing side by side. It was clear that Sasuke had snitched on where he was, which angered Itachi even more. The sun was setting and it was getting late.

"What are you two boys doing?! It's getting late! I told you to be home before sundown Itachi!", his mother barked. Itachi also took note of his mother's change in attitude after his father's death. She became more overprotective and easily angered, almost like a more in control version of Kushina.

"Naruto! You know better than to disobey your fathers rules too! You need to be home so you can go to bed on time!", Kushina roared.

Sasuke gave a look of satisfaction when he saw how angry Itachi was, and how scared Naruto was. As kind and caring as Sasuke was on the outside, he also had a dark side too, and Naruto was the person who brought that side out the most. The best part of getting Naruto in trouble was watching how angry he would get afterwards, but watching him look scared out of his mind was even better. Snitching was something that Sasuke was well known for.

"Sorry Naruto, I will tell you tomorrow", he said while smiling softly. Yes, he was sad that he had to leave, he loved being around him more than anyone, and Sasuke ruining his whole plan made Itachi want to strangle him. He mouthed the words "You're dead" as he walked with Naruto over to meet their mothers.

"Come along Naruto, we need to have a little talk!", Kushina said as she practically had to drag Naruto away from Itachi. It looked as if the blond ray of sunshine was about to cry. Itachi waved goodbye to him as he walked away with his family listening to his mother nag him, but all Itachi could focus on was giving Sasuke the evil eye. At that point, Sasuke regretted snitching, he didn't know Itachi would get so mad. _Why is Itachi so glued to that blond loser anyways? And after dad's death, it seems like they were closer than ever. I wish I got along with him the way Naruto does...but whenever I try to talk to him he shuts me down._

Before Itachi went to bed last night he snuck into his little brother's room. "Like I said Sasuke, you're dead", he said after he creeped up behind him.

"Big brother I-", he was cut off.

"Tsk. Brother? I don't even want you to call me that anymore"

"But-"

"You're a snitch. A snitch who is jealous of my friendship with Naruto. I'll make sure you never snitch on anyone again"


	2. Sasuke vs Naruto

"Sasuke what happened to your eye?", his little brother asked. Aki was the sweetest little brother anyone could ask for. Like most Uchiha's, he was very gifted. He smiled even in the worse situations. He loved to draw and had an imagination like no other. So even if Itachi did despise him, he knew Aki would always have his back.

"Yeah Sasuke, what happened?", his mother said sounding very worried.

"It wasn't there yesterday", his little brother pointed out.

"It's nothing", he said softly.

"Was it big brother Itachi?", he questioned. Unfortunately, Sasuke couldn't lie to his younger brother or his mother.

"ITACHI!", the widow shouted furiously.

He walked into the room and rubbed his eyes from tiredness. "Yes mother"

"Are you responsible for this?" , she said pointing to his injured brother.

"No", he said flatly as he turned away.

"You come back here Itachi! We're not done talking yet"

"If i didn't do it there is nothing to talk about"

"You did this. Nobody else but you did this. How dare you lie to me! How dare you hurt your own family member!"

"I no longer consider myself a member of this family"

And with that being said, he left the room. And before his mother could even catch up to him, he vanished. His mother walked back into the kitchen where the two young boys stood. She would deal with Sasuke later.

"Did he hurt you anywhere else?", she said as she checked his body for any other markings.

"Not really"

His mother stared at an odd shaped bruise on his abdomen. "Do you know why he did this to you?"

"He called me a snitch", he pouted.  
"Anything else?"

"He told me not to call him his brother anymore, and that I'm jealous of his friendship with Naruto. I don't even like that blond little loser, so why would I be jealous!"

"Sasuke, don't call people names you know better. Naruto is the Hokage's son, and"

"Yeah I know, I need to respect him the way I would respect the fourth", he grumbled.

"I like Naruto", his brother Aki added. Mikoto smiled, while Sasuke shook his head with disagreement.

"You guys don't understand, he's crazy! All he ever does is talk about how he is gonna be stronger than me and become the next Hokage. He's loud, he babbles about ramen, and complains about how he should be a genin already. I don't know how anyone is able to be around him for longer than five minutes!"

His mother let out a stressful sigh. She was beginning to question why she had more than one kid, but she couldn't change it. Any minute now the baby would wake up and start crying, so she knew she had to make things quick when talking to the two boys.

"Listen, I know you two are going through a lot. Sometimes because of something changing, other things change to. Your father not being around has been causing your brother to act out, and I'm sorry that he is taking it out on you two. I'm sure that by next year he will be the same old loving brother that he used to be, but for now you are going to have to tell me if Itachi does anything bad. And as for Naruto, I know that he is...a bit different, everyone knows that by now. But what's important is that we learn to accept others and get along with one another. One day you might end up being on a team with him, and you two will have to learn to work together. It's called teamwork, and it is the most important thing to have during missions. Like Iruka has taught you "Coming together is the beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success". Don't ever forget that"

"So Itachi will play with me like he used to", Aki said with hope rising in his voice. She didn't know why she would tell the boys that their brother would be back to normal by next year. She really shouldn't have gotten their hopes up, but she wanted them to think everything was under control. Obviously, everything was out of her hands. She couldn't control what type of person Itachi would become, and it was clear that Itachi was heading down the wrong path. He started staying out late alone, ditching important meetings, talking back, and Mikoto could only do so much to stop him.

"Yes", she said giving him a fake smile. Sasuke may have been seven years old, but he was no fool. He wasn't gonna believe his mother so easily.

"And what if he doesn't change. What if he does something so horrible that he has to leave", he said negatively. His mother frowned, making Sasuke feel guilty. She knew what he was saying was possible, and that's what hurt the most.

"And if it happens, it happens. I can't choose someone elses fate. Everything that Itachi does will affect him later on in life, and if he makes a bad choice, then he suffers the consequences"

Sasuke looked into his mothers eyes with sadness. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his brother, but if his mother c couldn't stop him, he probably couldn't either.

"If Itachi doesn't want to be the older brother, I'll be the older brother. I'll protect Aki, and I'll help take care of Izumi, just like Itachi used to", he said with a grin. His mother laughed and patted her son on his head.

"Thank you Sasuke, but for now, you can stick to protecting your younger brother Aki. When you are old enough, then you can start helping me take care of Izumi"

Sasuke nodded and then took his brother's hand. "Come on Aki, I'm going to help you train before we have to leave for school"  
The two kids walked outside to find a place to train. Baby Izumi began to cry and Mikoto walked out of the kitchen to go take care of the crying infant.

* * *

"Hey Sasuke, what's your older brother Itachi doing here?", Sakura asked. Sasuke looked over to see Itachi on the playground playing with Naruto.

"I don't know", he said ignoring the question. Personally, he didn't really like Sakura too much. She was clingy, and like most girls, tried way too hard to impress him.

"Yeah, it's kind of weird. Naruto hangs out with your older brother all the time, and the only other people that Naruto will hang around is Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba", another female student added.

"Yeah, it's like Itachi wants to keep Naruto all to himself, do you and Itachi even talk anymore?"

"I don't know". Sasuke's anger was really beginning to show, but clearly some people couldn't take the hint.

"It's almost like those two are brothers. Itachi has liked being around Naruto since day one. I think that that's why Naruto has been getting so strong. I think your brother is teaching him some things Sasuke. You better watch out, or Naruto might beat you somed-"

"Can we talk about something else besides Naruto and Itachi", Sasuke snapped.

"I smell jealousy", Kiba said as he walked by the small group of kids under the tree.

"Shut up Kiba", Ino barked.

"What's the matter Sasuke? Sad that your brother likes Naruto more than he likes you? Afraid that Naruto is getting...stronger than you?", Kiba joked. Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"You're asking to get your butt kicked aren't you dog boy", Sakura defended.

"Ha, you think you can beat me?", Kiba said before letting out wild laughter. His friends laughed along with him.

"Maybe I can't, but I'm sure Sasuke can!"

They all stopped laughing, all accept for Kiba. "I don't know why you're still the one laughing", the raven said seriously. Kiba's laughter stopped. "Well I'm not going to lie, you probably will beat me. But I know a friend who has a closer chance of taking you down".

"You think an idiot like Naruto can beat me?"

"Oh, so you're saying he can't?", Kiba challenged.

"He has no chance", Sasuke said confidently.

"Hey Naruto! Sasuke has something to say to you!", he hollered. Naruto stopped talking with Itachi and turned to face the two groups. Itachi and Naruto started walking towards them, and Sasuke started to feel a tightness in his stomach.

"Kiba, I really think we should just leave them alone"

"Shut up you wimp", he barked at his group member.

"Yeah what is it Sasuke", Naruto said impatiently.

"It's nothing"

"Oh, so now you won't say it. Well Naruto, it sounded a little like "You think an idiot like Naruto can beat me". Am I right Sasuke?", Kiba said with a mischievous smirk.

The group under the tree went dead silent, and other academy students began to notice. Now Sasuke wished he had kept his mouth shut, because what was about to happen really wasn't worth it. He really wish he could take back what he had said.

"Alright, I've had it! Everyone thinks Sasuke is stronger than me! Even Sasuke agrees! So let's settle this right here, right now. Iruka's not around to stop us, so let's go", Naruto said reading himself to fight. Sasuke looked over to Itachi he was nodding in agreement with everyone else.

"Don't be a coward Sasuke. You said what you said, and now you're going to have to prove it. Unless you want to run away like a baby and snitch to Iruka", his brother added on. All the students had stopped playing to check and see what all the commotion was about. People began to walk over to watch what was about to go down.

"Show them who's boss Sasuke!"

"Kick his butt Naruto!"

"I bet that Naruto won't last one minute! Last time they fought, he got lucky"

"No way! Naruto will definitely beat Sasuke this time, you wait and see"

From a distance you could see kids gathering other kids to come over and watch. Sasuke looked behind him to his friends to see their reactions. One of them got up and left, trying to avoid getting in trouble.

"Anyone who doesn't want to get in trouble, follow me", she said. A few girls felt guilty and moved away from the crowd to follow the brave girl who didn't want to be involved.

"Well what are you waiting for Sasuke! Fight me!", Naruto shouted.

"Beat this annoying kid Sasuke! Make sure he doesn't annoy anyone again!"

Sasuke watched a few of his friends get up and walk away. "Hello! Earth to Sasuke! Your opponent is waiting!", a loud mouthed female shouted.

"Or do you think I'm not a worthy opponent", he yelled at Sasuke with balled fists.

"Hit em' already Naruto!"

"You know what? I think I will!", the blond said charging at Sasuke.

Sasuke dodged the punch, and Naruto went flying past him. The blond turned around, and Sasuke was gone. Quickly, he looked to his left and his right. "Behind you!", someone shouted.  
Naruto turned around and Sasuke kicked him square in the face. Naruto's body hit the grass, but he got right back up. "Way to take a hit Naruto! You can do it!", an overly enthusiastic boy shouted.

"Kage bushin no jutsu". Eight shadow clones lined up behind him, all of them running towards Sasuke, making it hard for him to keep up. It was hard to block every punch and kick that was thrown at him. He was skilled enough to eliminate about half of the shadow clones in less than a few minutes. One of them landed a hard hit in Sasuke's stomach, a hit that was strong enough to cause him to cough up blood.

"Don't give up Sasuke!", a fan girl shouted. Boom, another kick to the stomach, and then one to the back of the head. Sasuke jumped in the air and throwing multiple shuriken, popping all of Naruto's clones.

"Go Naruto! Show them what hard work can do!", Lee shouted.

"I've had it! Sasuke shouted in rage, using hand signs that weren't very familiar with Naruto. A stressed look appeared on Itachi's face as he could tell what was about to happen. _"Sorry Naruto, but if you can't block this, then you're going to lose", Itachi thought._

A large ball of fire was hurled right towards Naruto. His expression showed that he was about to pee himself. The kids stopped cheering and chanting and started running. All of them got up and ran, except for Itachi and Naruto. Unfortunately when he jumped in the air to try and avoid it, his reaction was too slow, his feet up to his shins were severely burned. The blond fell to the grass, curling his knees to his stomach in pain, screaming in agony. "Itachi", he cried. Itachi walked over and picked the injured blond up from the ground. He gave Sasuke an evil look before walking away, trying to comfort the crying blond.

"I'm sorry Itachi...I failed you", the blonde cried. One of the trees was burned, and a large portion of the grass was destroyed. Sasuke looked at the mess he made, ashamed of what he had done.

"It's okay Naruto. Yesterday I was about to tell you a plan that will help us become stronger. I think we're ready to put it to action"


	3. Departed

This chapter takes place the day after the fight. Some reviews would be nice, I've been working hard plotting things out.

(break)

"So what is the meaning of this?"

The two rivals looked at each other viciously with their parents beside them. Itachi sat next to his mother, with the same blank expression he always had. Kushina gave his son an angry look, and Mikoto did the same.

"Yeah Naruto, care to explain what made you think it was okay to fight on school grounds outside of class", Kushina said through gritted teeth. Minato let out a sigh and shook his head. The Hokage, the one who is supposed to be setting the best example for his son, is sitting in an office over a fight that his child got into? Minato couldn't feel anymore ashamed.

"I deeply apologize for my sons behavior", Minato said.

"And I apologize for both of my sons as well. Itachi, you were supposed to be at a meeting today, what were you doing at the academy with Naruto?"

"I was helping him with his shuriken technique"

"You know Itachi, meetings are important. You must attend them if you want to keep your ranking as a-", Iruka was rudely cut off by Itachi.

"I'm well aware of that sir, but I value Naruto more than I value meetings, and if they want to take away my rank over that, then so be it"

Mikoto nearly fell out of her seat. What was her son thinking? It was bad enough that the school was scolding her children, but now her son was acting out in front of the Hokage? Everyone stared at Itachi, except for Naruto, who was looking out the window, watching the rain fall.

"Itachi", his mother said sharply. Iruka cleared his throat to break the tension.

"But anyways, there is still not an explanation for what happened today"

"I think Naruto should tell his side of the story first", Itachi said. The blond looked up at Itachi who gave him a comforting look.

"Itachi was teaching me a really cool shuriken technique, but I stopped when I was called over by Kiba. Kiba told me that Sasuke said he wanted to fight me"

"I never said that!", Sasuke snapped.

"Let Naruto continue", Iruka said calmly.

"So I said let's fight, because you know, I had to defend myself", he said in defense.  
"But if he didn't hit you first, there was no need to hit him. It makes you look like the attacker", Minato said, trying to keep calm.

"Well he was threatening me, and saying bad things about me. He called me an "idiot". So what was I gonna do? Let him call me names?", the fuming adolescent said.

"Calm down", Minato said sternly.

"He thinks he's better than me", Naruto said balling his fists. Sasuke looked down at the ground, uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"He thinks that he is the best, he thinks that he's better than everyone, you can tell by the look on his face", the boy said as he felt a lump begin to form in his throat.

"Naruto", Sasuke said. Naruto looked over at Sasuke, who was now sulking.

"I'm sorry"

Mikoto looked at his son, who was clearly upset by the mess that he had made.

"That's very sweet of you Sasuke", Kushina said with a smile. Sasuke smiled back at her.

"If there is one thing I've learned, it's that getting along with people is important. Someday I might be on a team with Naruto, and we'll have to get along with each other. Naruto has been my rival since I first came here, but we took things too far. Fighting to see who was strongest wasn't the right thing to do. Calling Naruto an idiot wasn't the right thing to do either. And I wish it didn't happen. Everyone is mad at me now"

"You want to know what really makes you strong Sasuke?", Iruka asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Your ability to know right from wrong, and having the power to apologize after you've done something wrong. It takes true strength to do that", Iruka said happily. Sasuke and his mother smiled. Naruto's face went from expressionless to sad._ But what about me Iruka? What makes me strong?_

"Naruto", Iruka said sternly. Naruto's eyes met Iruka's.

"Your jealousy towards Sasuke is what is stopping you from becoming stronger. Rivalry is healthy, until it is taken too far"

Kushina and Minato shook their heads in agreement. "I will make sure that this rivalry between them will be handled and that Naruto will receive punishment for his actions", Minato said authoritively. Naruto had never seen this side of his father before. It wasn't very angry, but something about the way he spoke made it terrifying. His sad blue eyes looked at Itachi in terror. Itachi's eyes no longer showed the comfort that they did before, they showed defeat. Naruto knew that Itachi couldn't do anything to save him from whatever was going to happen when he got home from school.

"School is about to start in a few minutes. Sasuke, let's hear your side of the story"

"I was sitting under a tree with a few of my friends. They started asking me why Itachi hung out with Naruto all the time. I've never understood why Itachi liked Naruto so much, sometimes I felt like he picked him over me. So I told everyone to stop talking about it. Then Kiba overheard us, and started talking about how I was mad because Itachi liked Naruto more than he liked me, and that really hurt"

Mikoto looked at Itachi, disappointed in his neglect of his brother. Itachi still showed no emotion whatsoever.

"So my friends stuck up to me, and then Kiba started talking about how Naruto could beat me in a fight. He called Naruto over, and told him that I called him an idiot, so Naruto got angry. He through the first punch, but I used a really strong jutsu against him, and I knew Naruto wouldn't be able to block it. I felt really bad afterwards", he said sounding very apologetic.

"Well, it sounds like both of you are responsible for what happened. I'm still very dissapointed in the two of you, especially you Sasuke. Naruto had to be rushed to the hospital for his injuries, and now he might have a few scars for how badly burned he was. You're very lucky that only his legs got burned. If you had burned his whole body, he might not be alive today"

Sasuke's eyes widened at the thought of killing someone. He may have really disliked Naruto, but he didn't want him to die. He wasn't ready to kill anyone yet, and he didn't want anyone else to die. Naruto was shocked too. He never thought of what would have happened if he didn't dodge the fire.

"As a punishment, you will not be allowed to have recess for the rest of the year. You will stay inside cleaning chalk boards or working on homework. I don't ever want to hear about something like this happening again. You may head to class now you two"

The two boys left the room, leaving the parents, Itachi, and Iruka alone.

"It's time for me to go too", Itachi said. He left the room in complete silence.

"I don't know if there is hope for him", Mikoto said as a tear drop fell from her eye.  
"It's okay Mikoto, I'm sure that Itachi is just dealing with the loss of Fugaku harshly. At that age, it's hard to cope with something so devestating", Iruka pointed out.

"But what if this goes on for too long. What if he ends up getting hurt. I'm a single parent with four children. It's really hard for me to focus on all of them at once, and it's hard for me to give them all the attention they need"

"Well maybe that's all Itachi wants. Maybe he just wants a little extra attention", Kushina said.

"Maybe"

* * *

Itachi caught up to Naruto before he could walk into the classroom. A few older students about Itachi's age walked past him giving him strange looks and whispering. Itachi was no fool, he knew they were talking about him. Probably about how he's an Uchiha prodigy and how he's always around Naruto. "What low lifes", he thought to himself.

"Itachi, I'm scared", Naruto said in panic.

"There is nothing to be afraid of Naruto. Minato wouldn't hurt you", Itachi said.

"Maybe he won't, but my mom probably would. She's scary", the blond whined.

Itachi chuckled at his remark. It was true that as nice on the outside Kushina appeared to be, she had a very agressive side that tended to show when she was angry.

"The real reason why they are mad is because you lost. Couldn't you tell? My mother wasn't as mad as yours"

The blond thought for a minute. "Yeah, I guess you're right", he said with disappointment.

"Of course I am, now listen, I want you to sneak out of school during recess and meet me at the dock. I believe you can easily sneak out the back door if no one is watching you. Don't bring anything with you, leave everything you have behind. Don't talk to strangers, and if anyone asks you why you are out of school so early, say that you are heading home because of a family emergency. We need to put our plan to action"

"Now? I didn't know we'd be going so soon. How am I going to tell my family and friends goodbye?", he asked.

"Write them a letter during class and then leave it on the teacher's desk"

"What about you Itachi? Are you gonna write a goodbye letter?", the blond asked curiously.

"No. Now get to class before people realize that you are talking to me"

* * *

To: My friends and family of Konoha  
From: Naruto

_Dear mom and dad,_

_I am very sorry for losing that fight against Sasuke. I'm sure that if i had not lost you would not be as angry as you are now. I let you all down and I let Itachi down too. That is why I am leaving with Itachi to become stronger. I'm not sure where we are going but I know that I will be back home by next year. Don't worry about me. I have Itachi by my side and he'll protect me from any harm that comes my way. I love the both of you very very much. I'm sorry if seeing this makes you upset. I hope you two will be fine without me. Take care._

_Your son, Naruto._

* * *

He put it on his teachers desk right after the bell rang for recess. He watched the kids scramble out of the classroom, talking, laughing, pushing each other jokingly. He was going to miss it, he was going to miss it all. He was going to miss playing outside with his friends, the smell of his mother's cooking when he came home, his pet dog Oma, his house, his neighbors, his whole family. Maybe even Sasuke, who was still sitting in his chair with a sad expression on his face.

"Tell Iruka I'm going to the bathroom", the blond said in a tone that was so serious, that it didn't sound like it could come from him.

"Can't you hold it until he comes and tell him that you have to go?"

"It's an emergency", he said with a frown.

"I really think you should wait", he said before the blond shut the door behind him.

_Doesn't look like an emergency to me. What's his deal? He's not the only one who would rather be outside, why does he sound so upset? And what was that envelope he put on Iruka's desk._ Sasuke decided to wait until Iruka came to tell him where Naruto went, but unusually he was later than usual.

"Where's Naruto?"

"He went to the bathroom, but he told me that ten minutes ago. He should be back by now", Sasuke said worriedly.

"And do you know why he couldn't wait to tell me he had to go?"

"He said it was an emergency. I should have known he didn't actually have to go", he said nervously.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. I'm sure he couldn't have gone far. We have teachers in this building who guard doors regularly to make sure students don't leave. Any minute now a teacher will come in with Naruto at their side. But for now, I'll check the bathroom to see if he's still in there"

Sasuke watched Iruka as he left the room. Should I tell him about the letter? Three minutes later Iruka came in through the door. "He's not there, but boy is he going to be in trouble when he comes back from wherever he went", Iruka said angrily.

"But for now, clean the chalk boards and sharpen pencils for me Sasuke", he said as he pulled out a pack of pencils from his desk. Sasuke groaned inwardly. It was going to be a long school year for him. He sluggishly got out of his chair and started to sharpen pencils.


	4. Rush Hour

Pencil, after, pencil, after pencil...it never ended. He was so tired of sharpening pencils, and just thinking about doing it again tomorrow made him even more angry.

_And the worse part is that I have to sharpen all these stupid pencils as a punishment while Naruto is too much of a baby to face the consequences. It's ridiculous. I hate how he runs away from anything he doesn't want to do. _

Sasuke heard Iruka freaking out in the hallway over how he couldn't find Naruto. And for some reason, his curiosity rose. He peaked out the side of the door to look into the hallway, and he spotter Iruka. He was sweaty and finicky, speaking in a projected overly excited tone.

"I don't know where he went. It's been almost an hour and I have a class to teach. We need to find him before The 4th and Kushina come to pick him up"

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. Iruka deserved better than this. Although he wasn't the strongest ninja, Sasuke admired him. He could tell that he was a hard worker, he was also strict, but the good kind of strict. The kind of strict that would make kids get their act together, but still make him a likeable person. Iruka was by far Sasuke's favorite teacher in the whole Academy.

He watched Iruka walk back and he scattered to a seat.

"I know you were listening in Sasuke", he said flatly.

"Well you seemed very concerned"

"Yeah", he said as he watched Iruka stroll over to the window. He watched for a while as Iruka looked out the window watching kids play together and laugh together. He had never seen Iruka with such a strange look on his face. It was a look of concern and disappointment.

"You know Sasuke, I've never been able to understand Naruto. He's clearly a smart kid, and deep down inside I know he's kind...but there's something about him that reeks of trouble. Something about him that makes him a lot more different than all the other students here..."

"Yeah...he's insanely attached to my brother, and he doesn't really play with any other kids. He interacts with other students, but as soon as Itachi shows up, he gets all happy and acts like know one else is around him. I've never seen him play with other kids during recess. He usually trains alone, or talks with Itachi"

"Seems like you've got an eye on him", Iruka teased.

"Of course I do, you always keep your eye on the enemy", he said slyly.

"Sasuke, have you ever seen Naruto do anything...unusual"  
"Well...", he wanted to start his sentence, but something that was holding him back.

"Out with it Sasuke, I need answers. Have you ever seen Naruto do something that would cause you to be suspicious of him"

"Well he was writing this letter, and placed it on that table before he left. He wouldn't tell me what it was about, but he told me he wanted you to read it"

Iruka picked up the letter from off the desk and opened it. His eyes scanned it vigorously. Moving at a speed Sasuke had never seen before, and with each second Iruka's face turned into a face of horror.

"What is it Iruka-sensei?", Sasuke asked with his beady black eyes staring at Iruka with a worried face.

"We need to find Itachi", Iruka panicked.

"What? Why?", Sasuke asked with a puzzled expression.

"No, we need to tell an administrator, or call his parents", Iruka said quickly.

"I don't understand, what's going-"

"Follow me", Iruka said before dashing out the door.

"Hey!", he yelled as he left the room to catch up to him.

* * *

Iruka didn't even bother to knock, he burst into the office, ignoring the outraged looks on everyone's faces.

"Naruto is missing! He is running away with Itachi, and we need to find him before it's too late!"

"What do you mean he's gone!? He couldn't have gone far, you had your eye on him right?"

"I let him use the restroom, even though it was the fifth time he'd gone all day. I should've told him to be a big boy and hold it. But that's not the issue. The issue is this letter", he said as he handed it to the startled woman.

She read the letter and before she could even finish it she through it on her desk.

"Iruka, alert his parents, now! I'll make sure that the Uchiha Police force go out to find him and


End file.
